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Britain's Response to the Herero and Nama Genocide, 1904-07

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Britain’s Response to the Herero and Nama Genocide, 1904-07 A Realist Perspective on Britain’s Assistance to Germany During the Genocide in German South-West Africa Daniel Grimshaw Master thesis in Holocaust and Genocide Studies Supervisor: Dr. Tomislav Dulić Submission date: 25/09/2014 Credits: 45 Abstract This thesis investigates the British response to the Herero and Nama genocide, committed in German South-West Africa, now Namibia in 1904-07. The records of the British Foreign Office will be used to assess Britain’s response to the atrocities. This thesis will determine how much the British authorities knew about the events at the time, the effects of the war on the British colonies in South Africa, the ways in which the British helped the Germans, why they helped the Germans and why there was no intervention. The theory of realism will be applied to explain why the British authorities acted the way they did, whilst using Hyam’s interaction model to demonstrate how decisions were made in the British Empire. This thesis demonstrates that the British Foreign Office co-operated with Germany for its own self interest and was indifferent to the suffering of the Herero and Nama as realpolitik dictated Britain’s response to the events. 1 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my family for their continued support throughout my master’s degree and who are always behind me in whatever I do. I especially thank my sister who gave me valuable criticism in the draft of this thesis. I also thank Professor Henning Melber who provided great wisdom and insight about the genocide during our discussions. A special note of gratitude is paid to Dr. Tomislav Dulić who stepped in to become my supervisor during the final month of writing this thesis and provided enthusiastic invaluable support and knowledge. 2 Table of Contents List of Acronyms ...................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Disposition ............................................................................................ 6 2. Theory and Method .............................................................................................. 7 2.1. Historiography ...................................................................................... 7 2.2. Theory ................................................................................................. 10 2.3. Methodology ....................................................................................... 15 3. Empirical Analysis ............................................................................................. 20 3.1. Historical Background ........................................................................ 20 3.2. An Overview of the Foreign Office, Colonial Office and the British Empire in Southern Africa ......................................................................... 22 3.3. British Knowledge of the Genocidal Events in German South-West Africa ......................................................................................................... 25 3.4. The Direct Impact of the Herero and Nama Uprisings on the British Colonies of South Africa ........................................................................... 36 3.5. ‘Benevolently Neutral’ - British Assistance to the Germans During 1904-07 ...................................................................................................... 49 4. Thematic Analysis ............................................................................................. 64 4.1 Discussion of the Main Arguments Behind Britain’s Co-operation with Germany and why there was no Intervention .................................... 64 5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 83 Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 87 3 List of Acronyms CMP – Cape Mounted Police CO – Colonial Office FCO – Foreign & Commonwealth Office FO – Foreign Office GSWA – German South-West Africa LO – Law Office UN – United Nations UNGC – United Nations Genocide Convention WO – War Office 4 1. Introduction The twentieth century’s first genocide was committed against the Herero and Nama people by the Imperial German Government in German South-West Africa (GSWA) (Deutsche-Südwestafrika), present day Namibia, between 1904-07. It was one of the most brutal suppressions of an uprising in African colonial history. The various genocides of the last century have shown the importance of the international community in the prevention and stopping of genocide, it is relevant therefore to research how individual states react to genocides. The British Empire was in a unique position as the Cape Colony and Bechuanaland bordered much of GSWA yet the historiography on the genocide has largely ignored Britain’s role. It is through an analysis of the vast records of the British Foreign Office (FO) that Britain’s role in the genocide will be examined. This thesis will assess Britain’s response to the genocide using realist theory from international relations to understand the decisions taken by the FO in its response to the events in GSWA. This thesis classifies Germany’s war of extermination against the Herero and Nama people as genocide. Key to genocide is intent, this has been proved beyond doubt from the German sources, principally through Trotha’s extermination order and the strategy of sealing off the desert so the Herero would perish from thirst. The strategy of blocking the means of life from the Nama which was designed to kill demonstrates that genocide is applicable to the Nama as well. The concentration camps established by the Germans continued the genocide and tens of thousands died through deliberate neglect. The mortality statistics with 60-100,000 Herero and a third of the Nama being killed are testament to genocide being committed.1 This thesis will assess principally how the FO in London responded to the genocide by using their records from 1904-07. It is the first time a study has comprehensively analysed London’s perspective. The Cape Colony and Bechuanaland’s response will also be assessed as they dealt with the practical problems war in GSWA brought to the British possessions in South Africa. Hyam’s model of interaction will be invoked to demonstrate how decisions were made in the British Empire and is useful in understanding the FO position. 1 Marion Wallace, The History of Namibia, From the Beginning to 1990 (New York: Columbia University Press: 2011), 177-8. 5 The theory of realism will also be applied to the analysis. The FO’s remit was to secure foreign relations and to ensure the national interest was being met. The war in GSWA had a significant impact on the British colonial possessions in South Africa. As this involved relations with Germany, the FO was sent large amounts of information regarding the situation in order for it to make decisions on how to deal with the crisis. Realist theory is based on several assumptions about how states operate in a system of anarchy and these assumptions have implications for a states foreign policy. This theory will be implemented throughout the analysis but it is in chapter four where the theoretical model will be applied fully to assess Britain’s response to the genocide, discussing why Britain co-operated with Germany rather than intervened. This thesis postulates that realist theory can explain why the British authorities acted the way they did. In sum, what this thesis intends to do is assess Britain’s response to the genocide. The aim is to create a full account of the problems faced by the British for the period 1904-07 in both the Cape Colony and Bechuanaland and to assess primarily London’s role and decisions during this period and the reasons why Britain remained indifferent to the genocide. 1.1 Disposition The thesis is split up into five sections, beginning with theory and method in chapter two, followed by the empirical analysis in chapter three, with the sub chapters centred around three key research questions. To what extent did the British Government know about the German atrocities of 1904-07? What was the direct impact of the Herero and Nama uprisings on the British colonies? In what ways did the British help the Germans? Chapter four deals with the thematic analysis and is centred on the research question, why did the British help the Germans and not intervene against the genocide? This section summarises the empirical analysis with the theoretical model. 6 2 Theory and Method 2.1 Historiography The genocide in GSWA has only received scholarly attention very recently. The British Blue Book was the first published account of the events in 1918, however its purpose was political and was not aimed at providing a nuanced historical analysis, although it does provide useful testimonies. Lempkin, who coined the term genocide, had included the Herero as genocide in his unfinished ‘History of Genocide’.2 Bridgman and Worley have classified scholar interpretations under the “genocide school” and the “non-genocide school”.3 Some scholars argue that the war with the Herero and Nama was not genocide. The non- genocide school which includes scholars Poewe and Schlosser question the accuracy of the numbers that died.4 Schlosser argues that more Herero escaped to Bechuanaland than previously
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